CHART News

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4/17/2015 6:09 AM

UNO-CHART is an applied social science hazards research center at The University of New Orleans that collaborates with Louisiana communities including the City of New Orleans and its surrounding parishes. This blog details CHART's activities.

At the American Planning Association Louisiana Chapter's Annual State Conference, CHART participated in a mobile workshop exploring green infrastructure in City Park. This picture depicts a constructed wetland in the park, one of the many resilient strategies City Park is using to improve drainage throughout the park.

UNO-CHART was recently awarded a grant from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Gulf Research Program. The project, entitled Multidisciplinary knowledge integration to support Louisiana coastal indigenous communities’ response to natural and technological disasters and adaptation to climate change, is a collaboration with Louisiana Sea Grant and the United Houma Nation. Dr. Tara Lambeth, Assistant Director of UNO-CHART, is the Principle Investigator on the project. The project team plans to work with two United Houma Nation communities to document how environmental stressors affect the livelihoods of these communities and shape the mitigation strategies they use to protect their coastal lands.Team members will record traditional ecological knowledge, local adaption plans, current mitigation efforts, and the tribe’s adaptive capacities. The project team intends to produce a resource that can be used by the United Houma Nation and other indigenous communities that face similar challenges. This work may encourage other mitigation and adaption planning efforts, as well as increase communication between communities and policymakers.

On October 15th, our research assistant, Michelle Espinoza, presented at the Southeastern Conference for Public Administration in Raleigh, NC. She presented some of the work we do here at UNO-CHART. It included a geospatial analysis of the social vulnerability present in Orleans Parish particularly as it relates to evacuation pick-up points. Michelle was on a panel with professors and students from the University of Virginia, University of Illinois, and LSU.

CHART's Assistant Director, Dr. Lambeth, participated in a joint town hall hosted by Louisiana Sea Grant, the Water Institute of the Gulf and the RESTORE ACT Center of Excellence. The meeting brought together coastal researchers and resources managers to discuss research and technology needs.

CHART recently received a grant to develop a CRS Strategy for the State of Louisiana. The CRS, or Community Rating System, is a series of floodplain management activities that help communities to reduce flooding and receive discounts on flood insurance. Developing a strategy for the state will help to coordinate flood reduction efforts and aid communities in receiving higher discounts on flood insurance.

Since 2004, UNO-CHART has worked with communities to reduce their numbers of repetitive flood losses through three major deliverables: (1) a website and web-based data portal that allows access to accurate repetitive loss data including property portfolios; (2) area analyses (flood mitigation plans); and (3) education and outreach. The database portal and area analyses are useful to local officials for planning efforts, grant applications, and general floodplain management activities; all of which assist lead to reduced flood risk.

Project partners include FEMA Region VI, Solutient, French & Associates and communities across Louisiana and Texas.

CHART is currently completing an area analysis with the Cambridge Subdivision in St. John the Baptist Parish, and held an outreach meeting on September 26th to present mitigation recommendations for a repetitive loss area in the parish. The meeting was attended by parish officials and local residents. At the meeting, the project team obtained feedback on the repetitive loss area analysis, hazard mitigation recommendations, and other issues that concern residents regarding flooding. The analysis is currently in draft form and located on CHART’s repetitive loss website, floodhlep.uno.edu. Copies of past repetitive loss area analyses, as well as general information on how to protect yourself and your home from flooding can also be found at floodhelp.uno.edu.

Floodplain managers who would like access to their repetitive loss information through our web-based data portal should contact CHART’s director, Dr. Monica Farris, at monica.farris@uno.edu.